SV students have a plan as they graduate

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St. Vincent salutatorian Jacob Hennmann gave his classmates a valuable tip as they left St. Vincent for the final time: have a plan.
“As Benjamin Franklin once said, if you fail to plan, then you’re planning to fail.’” He said.
Although he also quoted the boxer Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they are punched in the mouth.”
“Planning is helpful and plays a large role in success,” he said. “However, we sometimes don’t know what to do when we get punched in the mouth. When things don’t go according to plan, we can roll with it or give up.”
St. Vincent graduated 42 students who will go out into the world with a plan on Sunday in the St. Vincent de Paul Church.
While many will leave with a plan, commencement speaker Mark Mattingly noted that the graduates get not get to this point in their lives without some help.

“A big thanks go to the parents in the crowd today and the dedicated teachers for their part,” Mattingly said. “They are the unsung heroes.”
Mattingly had a very important lesson for the graduates as they embark on the next step of their lives: marry someone smarter than them.
“It worked for me,” Mattingly said. “By now many of you have decided the next step beyond graduation. Many will go in different directions, but it’s ok to go into the next step without the knowledge of what to do.
Mattingly told a story how he went to college with an undecided major, but life experiences led him to where he is today.
“A situation allowed me to have a lightbulb go off,” Mattingly said. “It was at that point that I had a 2.3 GPA and I thought that was good. I was above average. I buckled down and got all A’s the next semester and eventually had to apply to physical therapy school twice. Plans sometimes can get derailed, but you have to keep trying.”
Valedictorian Gracie McKinney went a different direction with her address to the senior class where she talked about the tradition at St. Vincent. There are many brothers, sisters, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, and cousins that went through St. Vincent she said. “They are welcomed back during homecoming and all the events the school has. We will always be a part of that St. Vincent history and tradition, no matter where we go.”
A total of 25 students were recognized for graduating with honors: Summa Cum Laude: Grant Abernathy. Aiden Blessing, Elizabeth Blessing, Jacob Hennemann, Ben Kirn, Gracie McKinney. Magna Cum Laude: Ethan Buerck, Clarice Garris, Lauren Miesner, Grace Pecaut, Artemisa Rickels. Cum Laude: Kamille Graham, Gabrielle Gremaud, Kaden Kassel, Isaac Naeger, Allie Strattman.